Calling out the BS in BonSucro
Commentary: Why multi-stakeholder initiatives need to be held accountable for their rights-abusing members, by David Pred and Natalie Bugalski READ FULL ARTICLE ▶
Human rights complaint filed to UK government against ethical sugar association Bonsucro
Representatives of more than 700 Cambodian families who were violently displaced to make way for a sugar plantation have filed a formal complaint against Bonsucro, the sugar industry’s sustainability certification body, for breaches of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
ANZ bank issued rare rebuke by Australian oversight body
ANZ Banking Group violated its own policies and international human rights standards by financing a Cambodian sugar company that seized land from local farmers, according to a statement released today by an Australian government body that monitors corporate behavior overseas. In a rare rebuke of a commercial bank, the Australian National Contact Point found it […]
Thai court accepts Cambodian land grabbing case, orders mediation
(Bangkok) – A Thai court has accepted a landmark lawsuit filed by plaintiffs representing a class of over 700 Cambodian farming families accusing Asia’s largest sugar producer of grabbing their land and destroying their livelihoods. In line with Thai legal procedure, the judges have asked the plaintiffs and the defendant, the Thai sugar giant Mitr […]
Forcibly Displaced Cambodians File Historic Lawsuit against Asia’s Largest Sugar Producer
Displaced farmers from Cambodia have filed a landmark class-action lawsuit against the Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol. The legal complaint was filed in a Thai civil court by two plaintiffs representing a class of approximately 3000 people who were violently displaced and dispossessed of their land and livelihoods in five remote villages in northwestern Cambodia […]
Europe’s ‘blood sugar’ – POLITICO
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — In 2006, the Cambodian sugar industry was so negligible as to be non-existent. A decade on, it has grown into a multi-million dollar commercial enterprise — largely thanks to a European policy known as “Everything But Arms” (EBA), which provides tariff-free access to the common market for exporters from the world’s […]
Victims put pressure on ANZ over the loss of their land — The Age
Pheun Ra, 42, was visiting her mother in hospital when security guards from the ANZ bank-financed Phnom Penh Sugar Company arrived at her small plot of land in Cambodia’s south. Over several hours, the guards demolished her home as part of a land grab to make way for a new sugar plantation backed by one […]
New complaint challenges Thai company’s membership in sustainable sugar group
(Phnom Penh) – Inclusive Development International and two Cambodian partners filed a complaint with the global sugar industry group Bonsucro for re-admitting Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol Group despite the fact that thousands of families forced off their land to make way for the company’s former plantations in Cambodia have yet to receive redress. Bonsucro was founded in 2008 to oversee sugar industry standards. The organization […]
Coke’s zero tolerance for land grabs proves difficult to fulfill
(Washington, DC – Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The Coca-Cola Co has made a good start in axing land grabs from its supply chain, but it must work harder in proving that its bottlers and sugar suppliers do not violate land rights, development experts told the company. Coke declared two years ago that land grabbing is […]
Commencement of Cambodian ‘blood sugar’ reparations process a crucial step towards justice
Inclusive Development International welcomes the commencement of a joint EU-Cambodia process to assess displacement claims pertaining to sugarcane plantations in Cambodia. This development represents a pivotal step towards justice for thousands of Cambodian people who have suffered enormously at the hands of the sugar industry. The European Commission has announced a tender for the procurement of independent […]